1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to separable bottom end stop assembly of a slide fastener. More particularly it relates to separable bottom end stop assembly of a lateral-inserting type slide fastener in which one of the separable bottom end stops attached to a lower end of a fastener stringer is a male member and the other is a female member, and after the male member and the female member are engaged from both surfaces of the fastener surface by a snapping system, the male member and the female member are caused to join up against each other from the transverse direction of the fastener, thereby fitting the fastener stringer inside the slider.
2. Prior Art
In the separable bottom end stop assembly of a slide fastener which has been used in the past, a box pin and a box are attached to an end portion of one of left and right fastener stringers and an insert pin is attached to the other fastener stringer. When the left and right fastener stringers are to be closed, the slider is slid so as to contact the box, and then the insert pin is inserted into the element guide groove of the slider. Next, after the insert pin is inserted into the box, the slider is pulled upwards and caused to slide and the closing operation is thereby carried out. However, in this type of separable bottom end stop assembly in which the insert pin must be inserted in the box, the insertion operation is extremely difficult for children and elderly people.
One known separable bottom end stop assembly which can be operated simply is a lateral-inserting type in which a male member having a projecting pin and a female member having a socket are provided at an end portion of the right and left fastener stringers so as to be engaged with each other, and the fastener stringer is fit-inserted from the side of the slider and thereby closed. This lateral-inserting type separable bottom end stop is disclosed, for example, in the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,927, which is shown in FIG. 21. In the disclosed separable bottom end stop, an incline surface having a screw-like configuration is provided at a portion of the periphery of each of the pin 110 and socket 112 of the male member 107 and the female member 108 which are provided at end portions of the left and right fastener stringers 102, 102. When the right and left fastener stringers 102, 102 are rotated about the pin 110, the female member 108 moves toward the pin 110 of the male member 107, so that the engagement and separation operation of the male member 107 and the female member 108 can be carried out.
In the separable bottom end stop of the above-described slide fastener which is shown in FIG. 21, when the right and left stringers 102, 102 are rotated in the closing direction around the pin 110 after the pin 110 and the socket 112 are engaged, it is necessary to lead one of the fastener stringers 102, 102 into the slider 103 using the hands in order to fit-insert the fastener stringer 102 into the slider. This is because the screw-shaped incline surface is formed at a fixed angle. Further, in order to rotate the fastener stringer 102 in the opposite direction and separate the pin 110 from the socket 112, the fastener stringer 102 must be rotated to a great extent, or else the fastener stringer 102 at the socket side must be twisted and detached. Thus there is the problem that the engagement and separation operations are extremely difficult.
The present invention obviates the aforementioned problems and has a principal object to provide a lateral-inserting type separable bottom end stop assembly of a slide fastener in which the engagement and separation operations are extremely simple and particularly, children and elderly people can perform the operation of closing of the left and right fastener stringers in a simple manner. That is to say, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a separable bottom end stop assembly of a slide fastener in which the male member and the female member comprising the separable bottom end stop assembly can be engaged from both front and back directions, and by pulling together the male member and the female member and pressing both front and back surfaces thereof, the fastener stringers are closed easily due to cam mechanism, thereby causing initial movement of the slider, and in which separation of the left and right fastener stringers can be easily prevented, and further the separation and release of the left and right fastener stringers can be easily carried out.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a separable bottom end stop assembly of a slide fastener which automatically, speedily and accurately guides an insert plate to an inner portion of the slider which is held by a holding portion which opposes the insert plate.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a separable bottom end stop assembly of a slide fastener in which by specifying the configuration of a sliding surface of slide plate of the male member or the female member, the operation can be effective and accurate, and the separation of the male member and the female member can be carried out simply.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a separable bottom end stop assembly of a slide fastener in which by specifying the surface configuration of the slide plate of the male member or the female member, the engagement and separation of the male member and the female member and the opening and closing of the fastener chain can be carried out smoothly and easily.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a separable bottom end stop assembly of a slide fastener in which by specifying the surface shape of the male member or the female member, the operation of initial movement of the slider attached at the separable bottom end stop assembly can be started simply and reliably using the finger tips.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a separable bottom end stop assembly of a slide fastener in which by specifying the configuration of the slider which is adapted to be mounted to the fastener chain, even children and elderly people can carry out the engagement and separation operation smoothly while the male member and the female member are visible.
The above described objects can be attained by a basic feature of the present invention, that is, a lateral-inserting type separable bottom end stop assembly which comprises a male member and a female member which are engageable with and releasable from each other. The male member is provided with a first slide plate from which an engagement leg portion projects, while the female member is provided with a second sliding plate in which an engagement hole is formed to be fitly engaged with the engagement leg portion. First and second sliding surfaces are formed respectively at the peripheries of the engagement leg portion and the engagement hole. At the time of engagement, the male member and the female member are rotatable relatively with the first and second sliding surfaces thereof being in slide contact with each other. Each of the first and second slide surfaces is formed with a steep incline surface and a gentle incline surface. The steep incline surface and the gentle incline surface serve to automatically advance an insert plate which is disposed at one of the male member and the female member to an inside of a slider which is held by a holding portion which is disposed at the other of the male member and the female member when the first and second slide plates are pressed from both surfaces thereof.
With such structure, by simply pressing the first and second slide plates of the male member and the female member which are in an engaged state from the front and the back, the insert plate can be automatically and speedily moved towards the slider which is held at the holding portion due to the action of the cam. Consequently the operation can be carried out easily even by children and elderly people or by using only one hand. Further, when the male member and the female member are opened to a certain extent, the male member and the female member can be automatically taken out from each other due to the action of the cam, thereby making the engagement and release operation extremely easy.
Furthermore it is preferable that the steep incline surface disposed at each of the slide surfaces is continuous to the gentle incline surface, and the steep incline surface automatically advances the insert plate toward the slider which is held at the holding portion when the first and second sliding plates are pressed from both surfaces thereof, and the gentle incline surface automatically guides the insert plate to the inside of the slider to be accommodated therein. The steep incline surface causes the insert plate to be automatically and speedily brought in close proximity with the slider which is held at the holding portion. Further, the gentle incline surface maintains the action of the steep incline surface and guides the insert plate which is in contact with the slider to the inside of the slider automatically and accurately so that it is accommodated therein.
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Still further, it is preferable that the steep incline surface disposed at each of the first and second slide surfaces has an elevation angle of 50-70 degrees, and the gentle incline surface has an elevation angle of 5-10 degrees. Further, it is preferable that each of the first and second slide surfaces is provided with an upper step horizontal surface and a lower step horizontal surface which are disposed through a step. Consequently the engagement and release of the male member and the female member can be achieved easily and simply under optimum conditions.
Furthermore it is preferable that there are provided a first steep incline surface, a gentle incline surface, further preferably a second steep incline surface, which are inclined at different angles with respect to the horizontal surfaces, successively in the direction from the lower step horizontal surface towards the upper step horizontal surface. Consequently the insert plate can be automatically and speedily brought in close proximity with the slider which is held at the holding portion more easily, and can be guided and inserted into the slider automatically and accurately.
Still further, it is preferable that each of the slide surfaces is provided with a vertical surface at a holding portion or an insert plate side thereof, and the upper step horizontal surface and the lower step horizontal surface are provided on both sides of the vertical surface, and the steep incline surface has a starting point which is between 160xc2x0 and 170xc2x0 from the vertical surface about the center of the engagement leg portion and the engagement hole, and the gentle incline surface is provided between 50xc2x0 to 600 from an end point the steep incline surface. Consequently the steep incline surface and the gentle incline surface are disposed at the optimal positions, so that the advancing operation of the insert plate can be carried out accurately and the female member can be separated from the male member naturally and without resistance.
Still further it is preferable that when the engagement leg portion of the male member and the engagement hole of the female member are engaged and the insert plate of the female member is fit-inserted into an insert recess groove provided in the holding portion of the male member, grip portions are formed with an outer side edge of a front surface of the first slide plate of the male member and an outer side edge of a front surface of the second slide plate of the female member respectively such that said grip portions form thick portions. Consequently the separable bottom end stop assembly can be easy to grip, so that all the operations can be carried out easily.
Still further it is preferable that a surface of the second slide plate of the female member facing the insert plate has a gentle slant, which pushes the slider forward when the operation for closing the male member and the female member is carried out. With this structure it is possible to push the slider forward by the thumb easily, so that the movement of the slider can be started easily.
According to the present invention, the slider which is attached to the fastener stringer is the one having a semiautomatic stopping device. When the engagement leg portion of the male member are engaged with the engagement hole of the female member in the left and right fastener stringers, and when the closing operation of the fastener chain is begun, the slider is in a release state. That is, when a pull of the slider is caused to fall to a shoulder side of the slider body, and when the pull is caused to stand on the slider body, a locking pawl of the slider is pulled up so as to maintain a state that the stop operation cannot be carried out. Consequently the pull of the slider is prevented from being an obstruction at the time of the engagement and release operation of the separable bottom end stop assembly, and the engaging mechanism is directly visible so that the engagement and release operation can be carried out quickly and easily.